Hi,

I thought I would share my gynae issues. It is really important that you persist in challenging the medical profession and get this issue looked into by a gynae consultant, as the longer it's left the more problems you may get later down the line.

In 2005, I collapsed 3 times with severe abdominal pain. The first 2 times I was admitted into hospital for a few days, given pain relief, then discharged (suspected appendicitus, but nothing further was done). However, on the third visit I ended up having emergency surgery. It was discovered that I had polycystic ovaries, and one of my ovaries had twisted and died. The result was a necrotic ovary that was the size of the grapefruit, and it had ruptured. As a result I had to have that ovary and tube removed.

6 months after the surgery I was still having a lot of abdominal pain. However, it took a few years and numerous consultations for this ongoing pain to be taken seriously. I was diagnosed with IBS (which they think was triggered from the stress of the surgery), which is now treated by medication. Although the mangement of IBS partially helped, I still had bouts of severe pain. So I kept going back to my GP, and in 2009 I was given a CT scan. This revealed they had left in clips after the surgery in 2005.

In December 2009 I had abdominal surgery again - this time to remove the clips, but they also had to remove a number of adhesions (a consequence of the previous surgery, but I believe these can also develop with PID). The pain has subsided greatly since the second surgery. Unfortunately, during that surgery they discovered I also had fibroids.

My gynae issues persist (my remaining ovary is polycystic, and as mentioned there are fibroids as well). I made the hard decision with my husband that we would not have children, given the gynae obstacles. It has been a heart breaking decision for me, but I believe it is the right one.

However, what I would say to you is don't give up. Keep pushing through with your GP. I learnt the hard way that gynae issues are not always taken seriously and dealt with in a timely manner, but finally got the treatment I needed. There are treaments out there, you just need to make sure you get to see the right people; and don't let them fob you off for another 6 months to see if anything changes, and don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion or to see the consultant instead of a junior doctor.

I hope it all works out for you.